An adult Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii) pauses on a tree branch while hunting birds. This bird is often referred to as a "medium-sized hawk", but in my opinion, it's a small hawk, especially relative to the general raptor species. This hawk is about 16" long with a wingspan of about 30" (varies by gender). It was commonly known to be placed in the genus Accipiter, which are generally your woodland hawks who mostly hunt on the wing.
Interesting fact: Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the chest bones, especially the wishbone.
This is likely an adult female.
Near Conway, Arkansas.
Photo # K09_5403c.
(c) Kelly Shipp
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